Bengals Vs. Texans, 2012 AFC Wild Card: Hopes Dwindling After Andy Dalton's Second Interception

Suddenly, the Houston Texans have every iota of momentum in their AFC Wild Card game against the Cincinnati Bengals — and that's even with Jerome Simpson stepping up his hurdling game.

The Bengals' first drive down 24-10 began promisingly, with Simpson going up an over a defender to get a first down and Jermaine Gresham showing up to get another one. But another sack pushed the Bengals back and forced Andy Dalton to throw deep on second and third down: the former throw sailed well beyond its intended receiver, and the latter found Gresham short of the sticks, though the ball came out near the end of that play, eliciting a timeout from Houston coach Gary Kubiak to study whether to challenge the catch.

He didn't, and so, with the aid of more time, Dalton trotted out on the field for a fourth down — and, after being pressured, threw a lollipop that Johnathan Joseph pulled from the sky for an interception.

It's a measure of how well the Texans are playing that picking off that pass, which cost them about 30 yards of field position, was a bona fide mistake.

For more on the Bengals, be sure to check out the SB Nation blog Cincy Jungle. For more on the Texans, head over to Battle Red Blog. Here's the complete 2012 NFL playoffs schedule.